Page 90 of Crashing the Altar
Jake wasn’t alone. With him were a woman in a pantsuit and a security guard.
Without hesitation, Jake walked over to the warmer. My fists clenched involuntarily as he stood over my son.
Peeking over his shoulder at me, he tsked. “You just had to take the hard road, didn’t you?”
I couldn’t control the full-body tremors that ran through me. “Wh-what?”
The woman spoke. “I’ve beenordered by the family court to take Penny Sullivan’s baby into custody until the paternity test that should have taken place six months ago has determined whether or not Jacob Wallace is the biological father.”
“No!” Desperation clawed up my throat. “You can’t take him! He’s my baby!”
There wasn’t the tiniest hint of compassion on her face. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but my hands are tied.”
My lower lip trembled. “Tripp, do something.”
He made a move toward the warmer, but the burly security guard blocked his path. “Sorry, sir, I can’t let you do that.”
Faster than I could blink, that bitch reached her hands into the warmer and picked up my son. Then she turned on her heel and left the room, taking my whole world with her.
“No!” I screamed, struggling to get off the bed and having to be physically restrained by the medical staff. My head thrashed against the pillows as they held me down, and I cried that same two-letter word on repeat until my voice grew hoarse.
My shoulders shook with the force of my wails.
“Penny. Penny!”
Gasping, I bolted upright, my eyes open but only seeing darkness.
Something touched my face, and I let out a blood-curdling scream, scrambling to get away.
“Penny. Calm down. It’s me.”
The familiar voice cut through the haze of my panic. “Tripp?”
“You were having a nightmare.”
Relief crashed over me so hard it stole my breath away.
None of it was real. Thank God.
Tripp let out a heavy exhale. “Come here, Lucky.”
I launched myself into his arms, and as soon as they wrapped around me, I broke down. Heaving sobs wracked my chest as Tripp clutched me tighter to his.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you. “
Burrowing deeper into his hold, I couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding that came with that extremely vivid nightmare—like it was a vision of our future.
“H-he took h-him.” My blubbering was muffled by the fabric of Tripp’s T-shirt.
“Who took who?” His hands stroked soothing circles over my back.
“J-Jake. He took our b-b-baby.”
“I’m not going to let that happen.” Though he kept his tone calm, he couldn’t hide his physical response. Every muscle in his body had gone rigid. He was just as terrified as me.
“What if—what if—” I couldn’t even finish that sentence before I burst into tears again.
“Hey.” Tripp tipped my chin up, and with my eyes adjusting in the dark, I could make out the determination etched across his face. “We’re not gonna stress over the what-ifs. We’re gonna take it one step at a time and figure this out, okay?”
